The"palace-steamer" was
launched as the flagship of Dan O'Connor's tourist empire on July 5, 1906
in the shadow of his Hotel Ronnoco. O'Connor had a vision for Temagami. In
it the
Belle was to play the part of the royal coach that
would deliver the rising tide of tourists to his hotels.

It
would also, in retrospect and by no means intended, become a barometer for the
health of local tourism.

This was a big boat for Temagami – it could
carry enough passengers in one trip to fill every bed in the hotels up the
lake — but O'Connor had reason to be confident.
The Cobalt mining camp was booming and prosperity was spilling into the neighbouring
towns of New
Liskeard and Haileybury. New mineral strikes were popping up throughout

The
Belle (above) moored at the Hudson's Bay Company
post on Bear Island, c.1907. This postcard is a rare early photo of the boat.
A group of mining engineers is on a lake excursion. This
dock was in front of the original store, which was located
just south of today's docks.

the region — Bay Lake, Elk Lake, Gowganda,
Shining Tree, Matachewan, Timmins, Kirkland Lake. The railway was
extending its reach. New Ontario, as northern Ontario was called, was
thriving with no

end to the riches. And the crown jewel of New
Ontario tourist destinations, the one lake region that would most benefit
from this wealth, was Temagami.

The Temagami Steamboat and Hotel Company owned
most of the guest rooms on the lake and most of the steamers. O'Connor
managed the company and held a controlling interest. Immodestly, he
crowned himself the "Laird of Temagami" — and repeated it often.

The 108-foot, 100-ton, wooden, Temagami-built
S.S. Belle of Temagami could
carry up to 300 passengers (though licensed for 175) and
feed them from an onboard snack bar. O'Connor promoted her
heavily. Visitors came from the Tri-Towns (New Liskeard, Haileybury,
Cobalt) by train for daily excursions. Charters were run for the Oddfellows and
national professional
associations meeting in the booming Tri-Towns. And she hauled freight and
passengers to the lodges, camps and cottages.

About 1909 O'Connor packed his bags and sold
his interest in the company. He was a restless entrepreneur who built
businesses but didn't hang around to manage them in maturity. This was his quick legacy in Sudbury,
and now he was repeating it in Temagami.

Temagami Steamboat operated ten steamers, even
buying up a fledging competitor. But O'Connor had misjudged the growth and
let his enthusiasm get the better of his business sense. The

"Laird of Temagami" (right) with
Belle crew at the Temagami landing.

ARCHIVES OF ONTARIO

accommodation business had peaked and there
was no other industry on the lake from which to capture business. That
many steamers and over 500 hotel beds couldn't be supported. The company had become extravagant and sloppy and
there would be a price to pay.

The troubled company started selling off boats
one by one, each leaving the lake. In 1912, the Lady Evelyn Hotel
burned and was not rebuilt. When the First World War started in 1914,
business declined precipitously and Temagami Inn on Temagami Island was shuttered. The Belle stayed berthed in Temagami
Bay at the landing. The smaller Bobs and Keego, the only
other remaining boats, were cheaper to operate and took over the runs.

At the end of the war, fresh entrepreneurs
arrived with new enthusiasm, formed the Perron and
Marsh Navigation Company, bought the Belle and put it back into service.

In the wake of her sale, the fabled Temagami Steamboat
and Hotel Company that had opened the doors of
Temagami to the world, closed its own doors.